Display poster



March 31, 1942. 1 v HORR 2,278,076

.DISPLAY POSTER Filed Aug. 22, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.' i/oH/v V. HoRR ORNEYS March 31, 1942. J. v; HORR' DISPLAY POSTER Filed Aug. 22, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

` JOHN [A11/OAR.

March 31, 1942.

J. V. HORR DISPLAY POSTER Filed Aug. 22, 1940 s sheets-sheet s TroRNEYs l Patented Mar. 31, 1942 DISPLAY POSTER John V. Horr, Hastings on Hudson, N. Y., as-

signor to Einson-Freeman Co.,

Inc., Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application August 22, 1940, Serial No. 353,619

8 Claims.

My present invention relates generally to'display devices and has particular reference to display posters.

It is a general object of my invention to provide an improved display poster of the kind which is used in store windows, on store counters, and in similar places. Fundamentally, such a device consists of a display panel, usually of cardboard or similar relatively stili" sheet material, and an easel which supports the display panel from the rear to hold the panel in a slightly incline position.

The present invention has for its principal object the provision of an improved structure whereby a reversible display panel is so associated with an easel that the device may be easily adjusted, at will, to expose either one or the other surface of the display panel. By the term reversible display panel I intend to refer to a poster or similar device in which both the front and back surfaces are nished, by lithography or otherwise, for display purposes.

Another object of my invention is to provide a structure of improved nature in which the display panel and the easel are permanently associated with each other, and in which the mode of association is of such a character that the side and top edges of the display panel are left entirely free, thereby affording a liberal opportunity for die-cutting or otherwise shaping or ornamenting these edges in any desired manner.

A still further object of my invention lies in the provision of a device in which the foregoing advantages are achieved without any sacrifice in staunchness of support, or in the generally rugged character of the construction. Furthermore, my invention permits the device to be inexpensively manufactured of simple sheet material such as cardboard or the like, and of a minimum number of parts.

In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the easel is constructed of sheet material so out and shaped that it may be easily adjusted from a substantially flat collapsed condition to a set-up operative condition. In its collapsed state the entire device vmay be easily stacked and shipped. When ready for use, a simple series of adjustments is all that is necessary to render the device operative, with either selected face of the display panel in an exposed position.

It is a characterizing feature of the present invention to construct the easel of at least one substantially vertical wall having an upwardly narrowing contour, and to associate with this wall an attachment link which is pivotally mounted for swinging movement about a horizontal axis substantially equidistant from the lower corners of the wall, the free end of the l link being hingedly connected to the lower edge of the display panel. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, a pair of symmetrical substantially vertical walls are arranged in spaced relationship, and the attachment link is pivotally anchored betweenrthem.

I achieve the foregoing objects and advantages, and such other objects and advantages as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, in the manner illustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a display poster constructed in accordance with the present invention and shown in set-up condition;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the present device in collapsed condition;

Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the device of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional View taken substantially along the line 4-,4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing the device adjusted to display the opposite face of the display'panel;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional View taken substantially along the line 6 6 of Figure 5;

Figure 'l is a plan view of the blank from which the easel is made;

Figure `8 is a rear perspective View of a modified construction showing the display panel in one position;

VFigure 9 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 9 9 of Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 8 showing the display panel with its opposite side exposed;

Figure 11 is a cross-sectional View taken substantially along the line Il--II of Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a rear View of the device of Figures 8-11 when in collapsed condition; and

Figure 13 is a fragmentary perspective View, from the rear, of a further modification.

InL Figures 1-7 I have illustrated a device which embodies the features of my invention, in which the easel is composed of a single blank of material. Referring first to Figure 7, a blank of sheet material, such as cardboard, is cut and shaped to define a medial strip Il) and lateral wings Il. The strip l0 may be of substantially rectangular shape, having the relatively short top and bottom edges I2 and I3, and the relatively long side edges i4. The wings Il are identical with each other, and each has a substantially triangular contour, preferably the contour of an isosceles triangle. For example, in Figure '7, the wing shown at the top conforms to the shape of an isosceles triangle having a base I5, an outer side I6, and an inner side which coincides with the adjacent edge I4 of the strip I. The wing shown at the bottom of Figure 7 is correspondingly shaped and arranged, having a bottom edge I1 and an outer edge I8.

The lines I4 are partly scored to provide hinges, and partly cut. Thus, starting at the left as viewed in Figure 7, each line I4 is scored to a point I9, and the strip I9 is transversely scored along the line 26 between the points I9. Cuts are then made along the lines I4 up to the points 2I, and the strip I0 is transversely cut along the line 22 between the points 2I. The lines I4 are scored from the points 2| of the upper edge l The cut between each point I9 and the corresponding point 2| consists of the aligned portions 23 and 24 and the offset portion 25. These cuts, together with the transverse cut 22, provide a iiap which is hinged to the strip I along the line 29. A transverse score line. 26 divides this flap into a rear portion 2'I and a free end portion 28. The offset cuts 25 provide projecting tabs or tongues 29 adjacent to the hinge line 26. The free end portion 28 is preferably provided with the transverse score 30 adjacent to the cut 22.

Each of the wings I I is provided with a slotted portion positioned substantially midway between the two longer sides of the triangle. These slots are designated by the reference numeral 3|. It will be observed that each slot is substantially parallel to the bottom edge of the wing, the lower margin of the slot, however, having a slightly inclined portion 32, this portion terminating at a point 33 which lies almost exactly along the central vertical axis of the isosceles triangle.

When the easel is set up, the wings II are turned up into substantially parallel planes. The easel ultimately rests upon the edges I and I'I, and each of the wings II constitutes an upstanding wall of upwardly narrowing contour. The flap that is hinged along the transverse line is then swung out of the plane of the strip I0, thereby disposing it in a plane substantially perpendicular tothe upstanding walls II. The tabs or tongues 29 are then interengaged with the slots 3I and pressed down so as to `rest against the inclined marginal walls 32, respectively. This brings the transverse score line 26 directly into alignment with points 33, as a result of which the portion 28 is adapted to swing about line 26 as a horizontal axis. This axis is substantially equidistant from the lower` corners of the walls II.

The portion 28 constitutes an attachment link by means of which the display panel is permanently associated with the easel. This display panel may consist, for example, of a relatively large sheet ofcardboard or the like, designated generally by the reference numeral 34. I have illustratively shown a display panel which is sub-k stantially rectangular in contour, having a lower. edge 35, side edges 36, and a rounded topedge 31; and it will be understood that any other desired contour may be used. Adjacent to the lower` edge 35 the display panel is preferably provided with a score line 38 whereby the attachment of the display panel to the easel is facilitated.

Any convenient mode of hinged connection, between the attachment link 28 and theldisplay panel 34, may be resorted to. I have shown, by

way of example, the employment of staples or similar permanent fasteners 39 connecting the lower end of the attachment link 28 to the lower edge of the display panel 34. A hinged relation is established by virtue of the score lines 30 (on the attachment link) and 38 (on the display panel).

When the device is manufactured, the display panel 34 is nished on both sides, either b-y lithography or otherwise. It is then secured to the easel by means of the staples or fasteners 39, whereupon the device is ready either for immediate use or for storage or shipment.

YIn the collapsed condition of the device, the parts may be arranged substantially in the manner shown in Figure 2, the hinged flap being turned out of the plane of the strip I0 so as to extend downwardly beyond the lower edge I3 of this strip. The device is thus in a substantially flat and compact condition.

Because of the characteristic of reversibility possessed by the device there are two ways of setting it up. When set up as shownin Figures l, 3, and 4, one side of the panel 34 is displayed while when it is set up as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the other side of the panel 34 is displayed. The advantages of such reversibility are so obvious that it is hardly necessary to point out the great saving in cost, space, and convenience that are effected by providing two advertising displays without increasing the cost or the bulk of the device over that of one display. As will appear from the following description, the manipulation required for setting up the device to display either one surface of the panel 34 orthe other requires little time and effort, so thatV con-zl venience in eecting the change is an additional characteristic of my device.

When the poster is to be set up, it is merely necessary to turn the wings II of the easel into substantially parallel planes, and to effect the interengagement` between the tabs 29 and the slots 3l. The attachment link 28 thereupon becomes pivotally anchored between the spaced upstanding walls of the easel and the device may be set up with either one or the other surface of the display panel in an exposed position. OneY such adjustmentv of the parts is shown in Figures 1, 3, and 4. In this case, the display panel 34 rests against the side edges I6 and I8 of the walls II, and the lower edge of the display.

panel projects forwardly byvr a slightr degree. When it isdesired to set up the device so as to expose the opposite surfaceof the display panel,

the panel 34 is swung in a wide arc, first away` from the easel, then downwardly and around, until it has swung through an arc slightly greater than 360, thus coming to rest against the'other edges of the easel, i. e., the edges which coincide with the lines I4. By comparing Figures 4 and 6, it will be observed that, during this swinging movement of the panel 34, the attachment link 28 will have swung in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed in these figures) through an arc.

of approximately When the parts are in the relationship shown in Figures 5 and 6, the

lower edge 35 of the display panel turns inward,'

and to provide for this disposition of the edge 35, the walls of the easel are preferably provided with small recesses 4D.

It will be understood that the easel, While capable of `construction from a single blank of sheet material, as indicated in Figure 7,.may be com; posed of more than one blank, if desired. But4 whether formed of a single blank as shown, or of:

separate pieces that are adhesively or otherwise secured together, it will nevertheless be obvious that the easel is in effect composed of a single flat element.'

It will falso be understood that the various score lines and cuts, and the general proportions of the parts,` are so designed that they will cooperate in the manner shown and described. For example, the length of the cuts 24 must be made substantially equal to the diagonal distance from each slot 3| to the lower corners of the wall Also, the cuts 23-25 must be planned to allowthe tabs 29 to interengage with the slots 3| in the contemplated manner.

In Figures 8-12 I haveshown a construction in which the attachment link `4| is formedas partof Yan element 42 `which is .not an integral part of the same blank of material from which the easel proper is constructed. The easel in this case consists of the upstanding spaced walls 43 hingedly connected ,along the lines 44 to a central strip 45. Each ofthe side walls l43 has an upwardly convergent contour, and is `preferably in the shape of an isosceles triangle. While these side walls are substantially vertical and parallel to each other whenthe device is set up, they are not strictly parallel nor vertical, and I have illustratively shown how the connecting strip 45 may assume a trapezoidal shape, rather than a strictly rectangular one, i. e., the hinge lines 44 are not accurately parallel but converge slightly toward each other, as shown most clearly in Figure 12.

The element 42 is provided with end tabs 46 which are adhesively secured to the walls 43 so as to position the horizontal hinge line 4'| as accurately as possible in the plane of the vertical axes of the isosceles triangles. This allows the attachment link 4| to assume either the position shown in Figures 8 and 9, in which case one surface of the display panel 48 is expos-ed, or the position of Figures and 1l, in which case the opposite face of the display panel 48 is exposed.

In collapsing this device, the attachment link 4| is brought into the same plane as the element 42, and the side walls 43 are swung along the hinge lines 44 into the substantially at relationship shown in Figure 12. The tabs 46 are hingedly connected to the element 42 to allow this collapsing to take place.

Ihe advantage of this construction lies in the fact that the user of the device does not have to perform any manipulations involving the interlocking of tabs and slots, but is enabled without further ado to open the device from the collapsed condition of Figure 12 into one or the other of the positions shown in Figures 8 and 10.

In Figure 13, the construction is substantially the same except that the tabs 46 are replaced by slotted tabs 49 which interengage with suitable substantially longitudinal slots 50 in the triang-ular side walls 5| of the easel. The tabs 49 are formed on the element 52 to which the attachment link 53 is secured along the yhorizontal hinge line 54. The interengagement between the tabs 49 and the slots in the walls 5| establishes a hinged relationship between the parts 5| and 52 whereby the device is collapsible the same way as the device of Figures 8-12. The engagement of the tabs 49 in the slots 50 is effected by the manufacturer of the device, and is a permanent interengagement serving in lieu of the hinged tabs 46 of Figures 8-12. The user of the device of Figure 13 does not have to perform any manipulations other than to set the device up with either selected side of the display Apanel'55 in an exposed position.

In both of vthe constructions shown in Figures 8-13, the other features of the'construction are substantially the same as those described in connection .withFigures .1-7.

Certain -phases :of myk .invention `:are `not restricted to ,thespecific typesof easels herein illustrated. Under certain ci'rcn'nistances,V for example, theAeasel lmight, bezconstru'cted of material other than collapsiblefcardboard or the like. Or, in :devices whichmay Anot yrequire a large amount of staunchness or rigidityfone ofthe ulpstanding easel walls could be Lomitted. .From the general standpoint of economy, strength, andelciency, however, the constructions illustrated in the present drawings have proven Ato be most satisfactory.

. One ofthe outstanding advantages of the present device lies in the fact that the display panel may be left entirely free of association with the easel except at its lower edge. This permits the side and top edges of the display panel to be diecut or ornamented in any desired manner, without impairing the general nature of the device.

In general, it will be understood that those skilled in the art may make changes in the details herein described and illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. It is, therefore, intended that these details vbe interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a display poster, a reversible display panel, an easel composed of sheet material and comprising two spaced substantially Vertical walls, each wall having substantially the contour of an isosceles triangle, a connecting strip extending between one set of adjacent edges of said walls, a ap hinged to said strip for disposition between said Walls in a plane substantially perpendicular to said walls, said ap having a free end portion defining an attachment link, and means for pivotally anchoring said link to said walls for swinging movement aboutI a horizontal axis passing through the vertical axes of said triangles, the free end of said link being hingedly connected to the lower edge of said display panel.

2. In a display poster, a reversible display panel, an easel composed of sheet material and comprising two spaced substantially vertical walls, each wall having substantially the contour of an isosceles triangle, a connecting strip extending between one set of adjacent edges of said walls, a ap hinged to said strip for disposition between said Walls in a plane substantially perpendicular to said walls, said flap having a free end portion defining an attachment link, and means for pivotally anchoring said link to said walls for swinging movement about a horizontal axis passing through the vertical axes of said triangles, the free end of said link being hingedly connected to the lower edgeof said display panel, said walls, connecting strip, and flap being forward of a single blank of sheet material, and said anchoring means comprising interengaging tab1 and slot portions provided on said ilap and wa 1s.

3. A display poster comprising a reversible panel, an easel adapted to support the panel on either side of said easel, and an attachment link hingedly connected at one end thereof to the lower end of said panel, and also hingedly connected to said easel, whereby the panel may be swung into a position in which it rests on one side of said easel and one of its faces is displayed, or into a position in which it rests on the other side of said easel and its other face is displayed.

4. In a display poster, a reversible display panel, an easel of substantially triangular shape presenting opposite upwardly converging sides against either of which the panel may rest in a leaning upright position, and a link hingedly connecting the lower edge of the panel to a midportion of said easel, whereby the panel may be swung into a position in which it rests on one side of said easel with one of its faces displayed, or into a position in which it rests on the other side of said easel with its other face displayed.

5. In a display poster, a reversible display panel, an easel of substantially triangular shape presenting opposite upwardly converging sides against either of which the panel may rest in a leaning upright position, and an attachment link pivoted at one end to the easel for swinging movement about a horizontal axis substantially equidistant from the lower corners of said easel, the other end of said link being hingedly connected to the lower edge of said display panel, whereby the panel may be swung into a position in which it rests on one side of said easel with one of its faces displayed, or into a position in which it rests on the other side of said easel with its other face displayed.

6. In a display poster, a reversible display panel, an easel comprising at least one substantially vertical wall of substantially triangular shape presenting opposite upwardly converging edges against either of which the panel may rest in a leaning upright position, a strip hinged to one of the edges of said wall, a flap hinged to said strip for disposition behind said wall in a plane substantially perpendicular to said wall, an attachment link carried by said flap, and means for pivotally anchoring said link at one end thereof to said wall for swinging movement of said link about a horizontal axis, the other end of said link being hingedly connected to the lower edge of said display panel, whereby the panel may be swung into a position in which it rests against one edge of said wall with one of its faces displayed, or into a position in which it rests against the other edge of said wall with its other face displayed.

7. In a display poster, the .combination of elements set forth in claim 6, said anchoring means comprising interengaging tab and slot portions provided on said flap and wall.

8. In a display poster, the combination of elements set forth in claim 4, said easel comprising spaced upright walls, said link being disposed between said walls.

' JOHN V. HORR. 

